Instructions for the Notes & Questions Assignments
1.) For the Notes & Questions assignments, you will submit your notes from the readings and videos earlier in this unit.
2.) Then, you also will write any questions you have on the specific readings, the literary genre, and/or the course itself.
If you do not have any questions, you’ll need to explain why. In your response, briefly explain your understanding of the readings and literary genre.
Taking Notes
In order to ensure a solid grade on your notes, please take detailed notes.
In your notes, you should include two things:
- First, a basic outline of the storyline and the work’s major ideas.
- Second, you should take notes using at least three of the concepts listed below.
Basic Concepts for Interpreting Poetry
As you look at different poems, there are several things to look for and take notes on:
- Theme: Identify the main message or central idea of the poem.
- Tone: Note the poet’s attitude or emotional expression conveyed in the poem.
- Imagery: Pay attention to vivid and sensory language that creates visual or sensory impressions.
- Figurative Language: Analyze the use of metaphors, similes, personification, and other literary devices.
- Structure: Observe the poem’s form, such as the arrangement of lines, stanzas, and rhyme scheme.
- Symbolism: Identify symbolic elements that represent abstract ideas or concepts.
- Word Choice: Highlight significant words or phrases that contribute to the poem’s meaning.
- Sound Devices: Take note of rhythmic patterns, alliteration, assonance, and other sound effects.
- Irony: Identify instances of verbal, situational, or dramatic irony within the poem.
- Cultural and Historical Context: Consider how the poem reflects its time period or societal influences.
Each poem is unique so you may want to pick and choose which basic concepts to note and analyze.
Attaching Your Notes
Perhaps the easiest way to take and submit detailed notes is to take your notes digitally, by typing them into a document offline.
To that end, it may be easiest to take, save, and submit your notes digitally, in another document that you can upload later.
However, since studies show that handwriting your notes may aid in learning retention, you may also submit photos of your hand-written notes, instead. However, they will need to be photographed and written clearly enough for me to read. To upload those photos, click the “Attach Files” button below, as when uploading .PDF files.
A Reminder about Daily Reviews of Your Notes
There are several reasons for taking careful notes in the course, beyond the challenges of keeping track of the readings for your essays later in the course.
One of the best ways to learn and retain what you study is to flip or scroll through your notes each day. It only takes a minute or two, and you needn’t read them in any detail. However, simply refreshing your mind each day — just by looking at them, however briefly — will help you in several ways:
- Reviewing your notes daily will help you remember your studies later on, including for your quizzes, essays, and final exam.
- These one- or two-minute-long reviews will also help clarify your thoughts and ideas about the readings and the course itself.
- Ideas and concepts that once seemed complicated will become clear, as if by magic.
- Plus, it’s a positive way to remember all that you’ve accomplished so far!
- In these ways, and more, brief daily reviews help you see the big picture and direction of the course, preparing you to move forward into new territory.
I highly recommend briefly reviewing your notes daily.
